


The Storm

by StartledStarfish



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Battle, Childhood Memories, Emotional Spock, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Grieving Spock, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Klingons, Love, M/M, Movie: Mulan II (2004), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 09:06:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14734064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StartledStarfish/pseuds/StartledStarfish
Summary: The landing party encounters a large group of Klingons. In the resulting scuffle, a life is lost. Will Spock have the strength to continue?(Loosely based on Shang's death from Mulan II, you don't need to have seen Mulan II to read)





	The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek. 
> 
> Some dialogue taken from and inspired by Mulan II.

“Spock!” yelled Captain Kirk, just as a phaser blast whisked past his First Officer’s head. “It’s an ambush!” 

Suddenly Klingons were surrounding them as if magically materializing from the two cliffs on either side of the landing party. The captain hid his panic when he saw how vastly outnumbered they were, and instead, started to call out orders. “Quick! Retreat!” it would be suicide to try and fight. They turned tail, phasers firing after them.

“Captain!” Spock called over the noise of the pursuit. “We will not be able to out run them! At our current pace, the Klingons will be upon us in precisely 32 seconds and-” 

“Then we’ll buy ourselves more time!” Kirk stopped abruptly pointing his phaser the rock face. Catching on, Spock followed the Captain’s example and everyone else joined in. The Klingons stopped dead as the avalanche of rock flooded the valley creating a wall between them. 

“Hurry! We can cut them off at the bridge!” Kirk explained. The old rope bridge was already in sight. 

“Captain!” Scotty’s voice halted him. Kirk whirled around to see his chief engineer bent over Chekov who was struggling as he tried to get to his feet. 

Kirk looked back at the rest of the crew, “Keep going; careful on the bridge. No more than three at a time.” three wasn’t an ideal number, but they didn’t have the extra time to waste. Kirk received nods of affirmation as the crew ran in the opposite direction towards the chasm. He took off towards Scotty and Chekov, Spock was right behind him. 

“He was caught in a bit o’ the avalanche, Sir,” Scotty said. Kirk did his best not to grimace at the sight; Chekov’s leg was bleeding profusely through his torn pants. Chekov looked almost sick with pain but was still trying to stay strong.

“There’s no way he can walk on that, Spock—"

“Affirmative, Captain,” said his first officer. Spock picked up Chekov almost effortlessly with his Vulcan strength. 

“Alright back to the bridge.” 

“K-Keptin, I-I’m sorry I—" Chekov was trembling and struggling to speak.

“No need to apologize, Lieutenant, accidents happen. If anything, it’s my fault,” Kirk replied easily. 

The rest of the crew was already across and waiting for the remaining four. “Cap’n the bridge can ‘nay hold more than three o’ us,” said Scotty, as they approached the precipice.

“I know, Mr. Scott. Spock, Chekov has priority, take him over.”

“Affirmative.”

“Scotty, you’re with them.”

“But, Sir-!”

“That’s an order, Mr. Scott.”

“But-!”

“We’re wasting time we don’t have, Mr. Scott! Now go!”

Scotty looked torn, obeyed the order. Kirk was the only one left to cross. He chanced a glance back just as the first Klingon appeared over the rim of the rockslide. The sinking feeling in his chest grew as the rest of the band followed after. He looked back to see Scotty, Spock, and Chekov were just over half way there. If he could hold out for just a little longer…

Suddenly, a Klingon phaser fired over his head. Kirk fired back taking one of them out; one of too many. He needed to put the ravine between himself and the Klingons. Still firing, He chanced a glance behind him just as the others finished crossing safely. Without a second thought, Kirk took off sprinting across the rope bridge, Klingons shooing after him. The bridge swayed under his pounding feet. He was half way over. 

In the brief second before it happened, Kirk knew it was coming. The moment his boot touched down he felt it. Before he had time to react, the board cracked and he was going down.

…

Having made it over to the opposite side, Spock rushed Chekov over to Doctor McCoy, who was cursing under his breath. Spock had barely set Chekov down, when Uhura’s shrill scream cut through the air.

He stood abruptly and looked where she was pointing. He saw with alarm that Kirk was stuck in the middle of the bridge. One of his legs had broken through the one of the rotted wood boards and he was now stuck. On the opposite side of the chasm two of the Klingons were beginning to cross the bridge; he could hear their shouts even at this distance. 

Before any of the crew reacted, Spock leapt in to action. He tore past, everyone ignoring their shouts, and raced towards the Captain along the swaying rope bridge at an unbelievable rate. Up ahead, the first Klingon was nearly at the center. Spock put on an extra burst of speed in order to beat him there. He launched himself into the air, soared over the captain’s head, and landed right in front of the bewildered Klingon.

The creature barely had time to cry out before Spock sent him toppling over the edge of the rope bridge. The other Klingon behind him stumbled back in surprise and scrambled to get away, Spock took him out with a single blow to the head and he joined his already fallen colleague.

“Captain, are you injured?” He inquired, reaching out to try and pull the captain up. He could still feel the blood pounding in his ears and attempted to calm himself.

“No, I’m fine,” said Captain Kirk, as he grabbed hold of his first officer and heaved his leg out of the hole. For a split second their eyes met. “You came out of nowhere,” Kirk commented jestingly, then hurriedly pushed him down out of the way of another phaser blast. “That was pretty impressive.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Spock replied evenly, firing a shot back at the Klingons. “May I suggest we proceed to the opposite side as planned?”

“Indeed, Mr. Spock.”

Suddenly, the bridge lurched out under them and they both lost their balance. Spock scrambled to grab hold of something as their platform swung wildly. His hand found the rope railing and he held on tight. Franticly, he looked up just in time to see a Klingon sever one of the rope supports. Half of the bridge gave out and he gasped as the rope nearly slipped from his grip. The Klingon raised the blade to cut the other support.

“Spo-!” Kirk didn’t have time to finish, as the knife came down splitting the already worn fibbers in a single blow. Spock heard Kirk cry out as he felt gravity pulling him down. As he fell, he reached out and grabbed on to the Captain with his spare hand just as the rope went taught and they both stopped with a jolt. 

Spock grunted in pain, as both his arms threated to dislocate from his shoulders. He hung there a second, trying to regain his sense of direction still holding on to the rope and his Captain for dear life. Below him, Kirk hung helplessly, panting with the adrenaline rush. Oblivion stretched out under them with a terrifying emptiness.

“Captain…” Spock gasped under the strain. “I have you…”

Kirk turned away from the abyss and looked up in to Spock’s eyes, and for a brief moment everything was still, if that was even possible under the circumstances. But despite that, Spock could have sworn there was something else there despite the terror of mortality at that moment. Perhaps, he wouldn’t go so far as to say it was safety, but maybe a different kind of security never the less.

But the moment ended as abruptly as it began. Fear turned to panic when the captain’s gaze wandered over his science officer’s shoulder, “Spock! The rope!”

He turned just in time to see the rope—their lifeline—fibers give way with a snap.

The second fall was much worse than the first. The resulting jolt sent agony tearing through his arms and torso. His muscles cried out in protest despite his Vulcan strength. 

“It can’t hold us both!” 

Somehow, the captain’s voice seemed far away. Spock only tightened his grip and shook his head, no; he couldn’t let himself slip out of focus. He used the captain’s hand as a tether, counting each of Jim’s fingers wrapped around his wrist, over and over in his mind. “It will… hold… Captain…” He grunted breathlessly.

“We both know it’s illogical to deny it, Spock!” 

Spock could only manage to shake his head weakly under the strain, but he knew Jim was right. They were going to die. The only question left was which would give out first: the rope or Spock.

Spock was determined that it would be the rope; he would never let go.

“Spock…” It was Jim again, he didn’t want to look, but something in the Captain’s voice made him tear his gaze from the sky. Through the haze of sweat and strain their eyes met, and Spock found himself staring into a completely different abyss. There was a look in the Captain’s eyes that Spock knew well. They were alight and shining with the heat of battle. It was the look on his face that accompanied the bellowing of orders on the bridge of the Enterprise. The determined look of a man ready to do anything to save his ship, his crew. The look of a man not knowing whether he’d make it to the next day, but unafraid. The shouts of the crew and the Klingons were just white noise in the back ground now. The Captain was all there was now. 

“Spock, I—" the Captain began, stumbling over words. There was sadness in his voice. “I-I… I’m sorry….”

Jim’s fingers were no longer pressed in to his wrist, and panic gripped Spock as he realized what was happening. “No, no, no,” he pleaded, as the Captain became a dead weight. “No, please, Captain please!”

His Captain smiled softly, tears in his eyes. “You’re Captain now, Spock…”

“No! Captain!” He couldn’t hold on by himself. He knew he couldn’t do this alone. Fingers slipped through his. “Jim!” Spock screamed, “JIM!”

…

Dr. McCoy bandaged Chekov’s leg in the shelter of a small cave the landing party had found. Outside, the rain was falling heavily. Thunder rolled up above and lightning served as his light source. He tried his best to listen to the storm, and not to think. If he started to think, he would break down, a doctor can’t break down when he’s needed the most.

The atmosphere was somber and quiet. The only sound among them was Uhura’s small sobs. Sulu had his arms wrapped around her shoulders as he watched the rainfall.

“It’s my fault,” Chekov wailed suddenly. “If I hadn’t been hurt, the Keptain wouldn’t have fallen behind and-and—"

“Hush, Lad,” said Scotty gently.

“Scotty’s right, Kid,” said McCoy. “It was nobody’s fault ‘ccept those damn Klingons!” His hands began to shake. He swore under his breath, but it was too late. Grief over took him, like it had the others.

‘He was too young,’ he thought. ‘Damn it, Jim. We need you. Why did it have to be this time? You cheated death so many times and now… now-’ He swore out, and a sob found its way from his throat. ‘Now your gone.’

…

It doesn’t precipitate on Vulcan. Spock remembered the first time he’d experienced the rain on earth as a child. He was scared, terrified of the storm outside. But his mother was excited; she rushed out of the building where they were staying, laughing. Thunder rolled over head and she spun around and around, letting the drops fall on her face.

Spock remembered watching her from the doorway, horrified. He called for her to come back. It wasn’t safe. She could be struck by lightning. But she smiled at him, beckoning him to join her. “Come, Spock, it’s only rain!” She exclaimed, “Come out with me!” When he did not move from his spot in the doorway, she came towards him. At first, he though she had listened to him and was coming back in, but she took both his hands in hers and pulling him out under the rain fall. He cried out, protesting that it was dangerous.

His mother only smiled at him, holding him close. “It’s alright, Spock,” she insisted. “Isn’t it just amazing?” After a while, Spock realized that they were not, in fact, going to be struck down by lightning. His mother, although she could be illogical and silly, was not stupid, she would not put the two of them in danger. He let himself look up at the overcast sky, he’d never seen so many clouds before that they blocked out the sun, it was like night time without the stars. He watched his mother dance around and smile. He did not join in her rain dance, as she called it, because he knew there was no logic in it. She was very beautiful. Her robes and hair were drenched, but she glowed with happiness. Spock had never seen her act this way, with no regard for logical behavior whatsoever. It was the first time he had ever experienced human emotion unrestrained. 

The moment had been broken by the first bolt of lightning piercing the sky. His mother agreed to go back inside then. She dried him off with a soft cloth, leaving only the memory of the cold drops of water on his arms and face.

A lifetime later, Spock stood once more in the rain. Thunder rolled and water droplets fell around him, soaking him through till he was completely drenched. The storm outside, however, was nothing in comparison to the one inside. 

He remembered his mother and her rain dance now. She remembered her beauty and her smile. The first smile he’d ever received was from his mother. The second was from James T. Kirk. The Captain had been the first person he’d ever felt the closest thing to friendship towards, and the first person to see him as he truly was. His mother saw a human struggling to be a Vulcan, his father, the opposite. Humans and Vulcans both saw an alien when they looked at him. Captain Kirk saw Spock, Starfleet Science Officer, and that was all. With the Captain, he felt a relief from expectation. He expected only proficiency as First Officer, and that was all Spock had ever wanted to be. His faults as a Vulcan were forgiven, just as his faults as a human were dismissed. 

But most importantly, he was never alone.

Inside, the wind howled, shaking him despite his will to stay strong. He turned his gaze to the sky and thunder rolled. He heard his mother’s voice call him, ‘Come, Spock, it’s only rain!’ sounded her voice, distantly from the cliffs. Lightening crackled above in the clouds, and the wind continued to howl. Then, another voice, not his mother’s, reached his ears.

“Spock!”

Spock saw him then, a figure standing by the cliff face, near the edge of the ravine. He scrambled to his feet, it couldn’t be. “JIM!” he yelled, just as another bolt of lightening illuminated the sky. Just as suddenly as the captain appeared, the figure vanished, leaving the spot he’d stood by the ravine empty. Spock still ran to the spot, searching desperately, but he was alone.

The figure was gone, just like the Captain was gone. Jim was gone. 

The wind howled louder than ever, filling his ears with a dull ringing.

Spock fell to his hands and knees. The wind shook him and his insides swirled. His body was no longer capable of holding back the storm. A foreign sounding wail escaped him, effectively releasing the dam. The pain overwhelmed his senses and he screamed, as noise unlike any other he’d uttered before. His vision blurred, and his eyes burned. Once again, he heard the voice of his captain call him. “Spock.”

“Jim,” he called out in reply. His chest convulsed and heaved with sobs. “Jim,” he repeated again, and again, and again, until he was no longer able to make coherent sounds, and instead continued to wail into the night.

…

The crew of the Enterprise was started by a sudden noise echoing in the recesses of their little cave.

“What in the world was that?” wondered Sulu jumping to his feet and looking at cave entrance warily. “The wind?”

“Some sort of wild animal out there maybe?” McCoy speculated. 

Chekov looked alarmed as the noise repeated itself, but Uhura rested a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s not an animal,” she assured him quietly. The rest of the crew turned towards the communications officer expectantly. “It’s Spock,” she explained. “He’s mourning.”

A sober silence fell among them, as they listened to the wails punctuated by the rolls of thunder.

By morning, the storm and all that came with it had stopped. It was replaced by a heavy stillness. Gradually, the Enterprise crew made their way out of the cave and into the early morning light. Spock kneeled with his back to them by the edge of the chasm. They approached him cautiously. As they neared he made his way to his feet. The landing party stop a short distance way from the first officer. McCoy opened his mouth to speak but Spock beat him to it.

“The mission still holds purpose,” said Spock, slowly turning around to face them. He looked the same as always, calm and collected, logical. McCoy could feel anger, bubbling in him. So that was it? no comment on the great loss that they had all just suffered?

“Jim is dead, dammit!” he spat. “How can you say that?”

Spock furrowed his brown slightly at McCoy.

“The Captain is dead,” Spock acknowledged. “However, that does not change the fact that the mission still holds purpose,” Spock continued. “We have sustained a great loss, but I will not allow the Captain’s sacrifice to be in vain. I shall complete this mission.”

“What happens after that?” asked Scotty, dubiously.

“Once the mission is complete, the Enterprise will return to headquarters where I assume Starfleet officials will assign a new captain for the remainder of the five-year mission. If not, the Enterprise will be decommissioned until another suitable use is found for it.”

“But zat cannot happen!” exclaimed Chekov in dismay. 

“As of this moment, I would not concern yourselves with the future of the Enterprise. The current situation and mission should be your sole objective. I understand that you all are grieving,” Spock paused then, in a manner unlike himself, causing the crew to look at each other with apprehension. But Spock recovered himself. “I will not assume to take the place of Captain Kirk, but I will do my best to guide you all in a manner which he would have seen fit. We leave in 15 minutes; prepare yourselves. Mr. Sulu, I require your assistance and map.”

“Aye, Sir,” said Sulu, stepping forwards as the others readied themselves to continue with the mission.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Like I said, this fic was loosely based of Shang's death scene from Mulan II. SPOILER if you haven't seen the movie, but Shang isn't actually dead. I believe the same would be true for Jim in this case. but the choice is up to you what you think happened in the end. Kudos and Comments appreciated!
> 
> Art for this fic can be found here:
> 
> https://tutunerd.deviantart.com/art/Star-Trek-Shang-s-death-from-Mulan-II-746208428?ga_submit_new=10%3A1527036715


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